1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Zoot Suit. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
Where: East LA
When: Beginning in 1942
Who: 38th Street gang members including Leader Henry Reyna, Tommy, Smiley, Joey. His brother Rudy and sister Lupe. His girlfriend Della. His legal team Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer. The Press, the Downey Gang, and the Soldiers are antagonistic characters.
The dramatic situation is Henry and other members of the 38th Street Gang find themselves on trial for a murder they did not commit.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion of this play happened in Act 1, Scene 10. I believe this is when the stasis is broken with the events of sleepy Lagoon Finally coming out. After this scene, things start to pick up with the prosecution coming for the boys hard and fast and their sentencing and all of the events that follow. It may seem a bit early in the play, but this is where things truly start to pick up in the plot.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor of this play is that this is the day that the Sleepy Lagoon murder took place. I feel it is also important to mention that it is also the WWII years which builds tension between service men and the media against the Mexican American community who wore unrationed Zoot Suits.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.)
The dramatic question of the play is, Will Henry Reyna and the rest of the 38th Street gang have their innocence proven?
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a charcter. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
The wants of Henry in the beginning of the play are simple. He wants to protect his machismo and his family before he joins the Navy. After he gets arrested his wants shift and he desires to get an innocent verdict. Also while in the jail he shift around from not trusting Alice to trusting her to getting fustracted at her to liking her. His desire to protect his machismo fades away mostly, which is represented by the pachuco going away for most of the jail time. The obstacles that face Henry are Me vs myself (Him vs the Pachuco), Me vs Society (Him vs the press and judicial system).
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one.
The most theatrical moment in the play for me is in Act 1, Scene 11 where the prosecutor pulls out a variety of weapons accusing the 38th Street members, Henry mostly of using the to kill Jose and the Characters having to stand each time their names are mentioned. Then the verdict comes out and all hope seems to be lost. Another theatrical moment in the play are all of the songs and dance. The final theatrical moment is at the very beginning of the play when the pachuco cuts through the newspaper backdrop with an oversized switchblade and steps through the opening.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Image 1: That of the jail cells of the character being made up of newspapers. It shows how unfairly their trial was swayed by the press who were just looking for conflict to sell papers. This is echoed in the fact that the prosecutor in the case was not a DA but the press.
Image 2: That of the oversized switch blade used to cut through the newspaper backdrop. This symbolizes the over exaggeration of the Pachuco and other Mexican American youth in the media and him cutting through it could show how the play is meant to challenge those stereotypes.
Image 3: The final image is that of El Pachuco being stripped down and beaten. Since this character is meant to represent a part of Henry it shows how much prison time has worn away at him and how he is losing a part of himself, even if it is a part that has problems it is still a part of him. This also is representative of the actual events that happens during the Zoot Suit Riots.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit.
Themes in Zoot Suit include police/military brutality, injustice, abuse of power, racism, family, isolation, problems of patriotism, war, freedom, and heritage.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit?
In relation to the dramatic action, family is an integral part. Rudy, Henry's blood family is protected by Henry. The 38th street member are like family to Henry even crossing the race line with Tommy. There is frequent use of the word carnal which means bloods and id slang for family or brother. Family is one of the major reasons Henry wants to get out of jail to see his family and also his extended family which includes Della, his love interest.
Where: East LA
When: Beginning in 1942
Who: 38th Street gang members including Leader Henry Reyna, Tommy, Smiley, Joey. His brother Rudy and sister Lupe. His girlfriend Della. His legal team Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer. The Press, the Downey Gang, and the Soldiers are antagonistic characters.
The dramatic situation is Henry and other members of the 38th Street Gang find themselves on trial for a murder they did not commit.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play?
The intrusion of this play happened in Act 1, Scene 10. I believe this is when the stasis is broken with the events of sleepy Lagoon Finally coming out. After this scene, things start to pick up with the prosecution coming for the boys hard and fast and their sentencing and all of the events that follow. It may seem a bit early in the play, but this is where things truly start to pick up in the plot.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The unique factor of this play is that this is the day that the Sleepy Lagoon murder took place. I feel it is also important to mention that it is also the WWII years which builds tension between service men and the media against the Mexican American community who wore unrationed Zoot Suits.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrustion.)
The dramatic question of the play is, Will Henry Reyna and the rest of the 38th Street gang have their innocence proven?
5. Use Henry to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, ie. The dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what the character wants (NOTE: In Wedding Band the wants of Julia are in flux. They change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a charcter. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that demonstrate these obstacles.
The wants of Henry in the beginning of the play are simple. He wants to protect his machismo and his family before he joins the Navy. After he gets arrested his wants shift and he desires to get an innocent verdict. Also while in the jail he shift around from not trusting Alice to trusting her to getting fustracted at her to liking her. His desire to protect his machismo fades away mostly, which is represented by the pachuco going away for most of the jail time. The obstacles that face Henry are Me vs myself (Him vs the Pachuco), Me vs Society (Him vs the press and judicial system).
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Zoot Suit. There are more than one.
The most theatrical moment in the play for me is in Act 1, Scene 11 where the prosecutor pulls out a variety of weapons accusing the 38th Street members, Henry mostly of using the to kill Jose and the Characters having to stand each time their names are mentioned. Then the verdict comes out and all hope seems to be lost. Another theatrical moment in the play are all of the songs and dance. The final theatrical moment is at the very beginning of the play when the pachuco cuts through the newspaper backdrop with an oversized switchblade and steps through the opening.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Zoot Suit. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
Image 1: That of the jail cells of the character being made up of newspapers. It shows how unfairly their trial was swayed by the press who were just looking for conflict to sell papers. This is echoed in the fact that the prosecutor in the case was not a DA but the press.
Image 2: That of the oversized switch blade used to cut through the newspaper backdrop. This symbolizes the over exaggeration of the Pachuco and other Mexican American youth in the media and him cutting through it could show how the play is meant to challenge those stereotypes.
Image 3: The final image is that of El Pachuco being stripped down and beaten. Since this character is meant to represent a part of Henry it shows how much prison time has worn away at him and how he is losing a part of himself, even if it is a part that has problems it is still a part of him. This also is representative of the actual events that happens during the Zoot Suit Riots.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Zoot Suit.
Themes in Zoot Suit include police/military brutality, injustice, abuse of power, racism, family, isolation, problems of patriotism, war, freedom, and heritage.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Zoot Suit?
In relation to the dramatic action, family is an integral part. Rudy, Henry's blood family is protected by Henry. The 38th street member are like family to Henry even crossing the race line with Tommy. There is frequent use of the word carnal which means bloods and id slang for family or brother. Family is one of the major reasons Henry wants to get out of jail to see his family and also his extended family which includes Della, his love interest.